Just days after we learned Uganda would probably pass its “Kill the Gays” “Imprison the Gays” bill by the end of the year comes news about anti-LGBT laws in Cameroon and Nigeria.

Is there a homophobia fire sale going on in Africa?

The Office of the U.N.’s High Commissioner for Human Rights has gone on the attack against Cameroon’s penal code, which calls for imprisonment and fines for same-sex sexual relations, after reports of intimidation and convictions, sometimes based merely on the suspect’s appearance or mannerisms. In October, two men were jailed simply because they appeared effeminate and had been seen drinking Bailey’s Irish Cream.

The U.N. Human Rights office is receiving reports of death threats against civil-rights leaders working to help LGBT people in Cameroon. “Obviously laws that target people because of their sexual orientation are discriminatory by any nature,” says U.N. Human Rights spokesman Rupert Colville. “That is why we strongly oppose them and we obviously try and convince governments that have such laws to change them. And, of course, many governments have changed them.”

If that wasn’t enough to digest, Nigeria’s legislature has introduced a bill that would not only imprison gay people, but those who stand up for them—criminalizing performing or attending a gay wedding. Gays and lesbians who marry will face 14 years in prison, while public displays of affection will land perpetrators a 10-year sentence.

“[Homosexuality] is alien to our society and culture and it must not be imported,” House majority leader Mulikat Adeola-Akande said. “Religion abhors it and our culture has no place for it.”

A similar bill passed Nigeria’s Senate last year but didn’t clear the Assembly. The international LGBT rights group All Out has posted an online campaign calling on President Goodluck Jonathan to veto the current bill.

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17 Comments

kayakriver

these countries are hell holes for a reason, full of hateful people.

November 16, 2012 at 6:11pm

scott747

Is there anyone else out there besides me who has noticed the rise in anti-gay laws
throughout Africa as the number of Evangelical “Christian Missionaries” has risen?
Twenty years ago this was not a problem.

November 16, 2012 at 7:11pm

2eo

American evangelical christians have been funding death squads in Uganga and DR Congo for over 10 years now. There is a direct and absolute correlation between christianity and the deaths of thousands of people, systematic rape and murder of lesbians and murdering of gay men.

islam is also a problem in the northern African countries, the push into Africa has largely gone unnoticed but they are doing exactly the same as christians.

Not surprising that religion is the cause of death and violence on genocidal scales [again] though.

To be fair, drinking Baileys Irish Cream IS a sure-fire sign that someone’s gay.

November 17, 2012 at 7:11am

Billysees

The article states, “…Nigeria’s legislature has introduced a bill that would not only imprison gay people, but those who stand up for them…”

Unbelievable.

“…those that stand up for them…”. ????

Can this be real?

Religious protestant fundamentalism is trouble making on this continent.

They can’t succeed here in the West.

Thanks be to our creator-God-Jesus-friend.

November 17, 2012 at 7:11am

Daniel-Reader

So do the people whose human rights are violated by these governments get to vote on whether these countries should be permitted to continue to exist when they are obviously committing genocide against gay human beings? Wasn’t the whole point of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to ensure that governments, that violate the human rights of millions of people, are wiped from the face of the Earth forever – just like the Nazis were eliminated? Isn’t that what the preamble of the Declaration means?

“Indeed, it’s futile to try and use Holy Scripture to support any political position. I deeply distrust anyone who does. Just look at what an Islamic Republic is like.”

November 17, 2012 at 12:11pm

BayAreaHomo

These countries should be treated the way apartheid South Africa was.

Their ambassadors should be expelled and their consulates and embassies closed. Their assets should be frozen in the US, US companies and individuals should be forbidden from transacting with them, their currencies should be declared non-convertible to US dollars, and individuals seeking asylum from those countries for sexual orientation should receive automatic protection from the US government. All aid should be frozen and all loans to their governments should be called in, immediately.

November 17, 2012 at 7:11pm

Dumdum

@Billysees: Sorry bro, but your pie in the sky religious diatribe is getting a bit old. No offense but you Christian lemmings are the worst, because YOU like all the other fanatics are selective in your interpretations. You only look for and see what you want to see. Myths, Fairy Tales and stories are meant to be instructive. There is very little difference between the bible and The Lord of The Rings. Except that J.R.R.Tolkien is a better story teller. He and C.S.Lewis found a way to get the message across without getting all up in everybody’s ass. Wikipedia has a great page on Homosexuality you all should check it out.

November 18, 2012 at 8:11am

Dumdum

@BayAreaHomo: Totally. But it won’t happen. There is too much money to be made. Africa leads the world in gold production and you know people love shiny things. and $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

November 18, 2012 at 8:11am

Dumdum

@BayAreaHomo: Actually Africa did lead the world in gold production I think that has changed. However they do have a lot of natural resources that are being exploited by multinational corporations.

November 18, 2012 at 8:11am

InscrutableTed

This has always been the trouble. People think homosexuality is something imported. Uganda says it comes from Britain. Britain used to say it came from France. France used to say it came from Greece. The Greeks used to say it came from a different part of Greece.

The message we need to focus on is this: Homosexuality is innate. It has always existed in your country, even before colonialism. You have family members who are gay, you just don’t know about it because they hide it. You’ll find out once they’re arrested and executed under these laws. Maybe it’ll be your son.

We already went through this in the West. These African countries can be smart and learn from our mistakes, or they can destroy themselves until they learn. Their choice.

That’s sort of a “warm and fuzzy” scripture verse I realize, but that’s what many verses are.

I like the feeling it gives me.

It makes me feel wanted and included and so forth.

You shouldn’t knock it unless you’ve tried it.

Cheer…

November 19, 2012 at 2:11am

2eo

@Billysees: Bless, I like how you tried to satiate your arrogance with a flawed and disingenuous compliment.

Again, bless. I, like most rational people enjoy the beautiful real world, and the wonders and mysteries it brings, we don’t need a crutch to enjoy life, we enjoy it at its base level.

Don’t need miracles, the pope, death squads, guilt trips and funding genocide thanks. I’m content with humanity and treating everyone with respect, their beliefs on the other hand are fair game, stupidity should be challenged completely and absolutely in all society.

November 19, 2012 at 4:11am

Dumdum

@Billysees: The goal of every human being should be to expand ones knowledge of the universe and the world in which we live. To be consciously evolving, not sitting about complacently chewing the cud of ignorance. The day that I stop questioning the world I live in and the people that I share it with, will be the day after I die. I often forget that people with limited intelligence have neither the desire nor the capacity to expand their consciousness. I question everything, I do not want to be comfortable, content, like some bloody bovine animal mucking up the world waiting for some Hebrew scholar who may have lived around 28–29 AD/CE, to swoop in a save me as if I were a damsel in distress, or to reconcile my guilty homosexual desires with some imagined sense of acceptance. I already love myself because I am a pretty neat guy. I do not lie cheat steal or kill. I am respected in my community I help others when I can and I try to make my carbon footprint on this planet as small as possible, all without the aid of an imaginary [email protected]2eo: Thanks buddy. You always put into words what I am thinking which compels me to be more inventive with my comments.

Billysees

Of all my faults, I don’t think arrogance is one of them, but it might be and I simply can’t detect it.

“…flawed and disingenuous compliment.” What does that mean? What compliment?

“I…enjoy the beautiful real world, and the wonders and mysteries it brings…” So do I.

That “crutch” stuff has been around before.

If there is something in this world that I feel would be helpful to my existence and make me a more happier person, then I want to know what it is. I bet the “pursuit of happiness” is probably one of the most active of our desires.

Maybe it’s eating better or more nutritious food, or getting a better job that pays more, or changing courses in a school that’ll better reflect our life’s ambitions. Maybe it’s getting a divorce or getting a new boyfriend or girlfriend. You know what I mean here. The illustrations are endless.

Nobody’s gonna doubt that “religious things” are in this world. To understand these things, many of us will do what we can to grasp whatever we can if it’ll make us happier. It’s sort of like a big personal “experiment” or “searching” until we understand what we can.

Some folks are more “gung ho” about these matters and will turn over every stone until they “nail it” and some just accept things on a basic level and don’t worry about it. They go-with-the-flow and are all the better for it.

I’m a little of both. You’ve heard that “ignorance is bliss”. Hey, there’s much truth here.
And we can say the opposite by saying that “knowledge is power”. And there’s truth there too.

An interesting comment in the Book goes like this — “Why be perfect, why destroy yourself?”.

And an NT writer said, “Let you moderation be known to all”.

“I’m content with humanity and treating everyone with respect,…”. You’ll get no argument from me on that comment of yours. That is a great and meaningful goal for anyone.

Wonder why many religious folks don’t feel the same way?

Beliefs should NOT be fair game, but rather as you say “stupidity should be challenged completely and absolutely”.

So….what’s the best conclusion for this conversation?

“DO” and “BE” the best we can and strive to practice the best qualities of life”.

November 23, 2012 at 6:11am

Billysees

I share the same attitudes as you expressed in your first 4 sentences.

“I often forget that people with limited intelligence have neither the desire nor the capacity to expand their consciousness” — As an Anthropologist, I can’t imagine you’d forget this about “us” humans.

Your comment about the “damsel in distress” is really kinda funny.
Never thought of it that way. Kinda cute if I must say so….lol.

“I already love myself because I am a pretty neat guy” — The NT says we should do the same. But sadly, there are many folks that don’t feel that way. I think people are very very “fortunate” to think this way about themselves.

“I do not lie, cheat, steal, or kill” — I’d be afraid to say these things about myself because it wouldn’t be “perfectly” true. There’s too much “chest beating” here. Here’s what the Book would say, “It’s not good for a man to think of himself more than he aught”. That’s an example of a “good idea” that comes from the Book and it makes pretty good sense to me. Do you agree?

“I am respected in my community I help others when I can…” — I am also. And that’s the way I want it too. I do PR work, so-to-speak, with my neighbors and friends always cause it’s necessary.

Before I continue, it’s necessary to mention that the Book, to me, is more about inspiration about a creator or god and as a source of good ideas. I don’t consider it as the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. I do what everybody else does and that is “cherry pick” certain ideas to suit the situation. It works for me to do that. I prefer “warm and fuzzy” stuff.

“…all without the aid of an imaginary friend” — I don’t know all the details of why I think or feel that someone like Jesus is an imaginary friend, but I do. His words are magnetic to me and I’m glad that his kind of “comforting commentary” exists.

“…or to reconcile my guilty homosexual desires with some imagined sense of acceptance” — Only for a short period in my early teenage years when I realized that, wow….I’m gay and it’s really different, was I uncomfortable with being gay. But that feeling didn’t last long. I also had childhood friends and we “played around” quite a bit so I never felt alone or by myself. I didn’t experience any guilt about my gayness. I don’t know what “gay guilt” is.